diff --git a/src/KubernetesClient/KubernetesClient.csproj b/src/KubernetesClient/KubernetesClient.csproj
index fe87790b1..fbeae4da1 100644
--- a/src/KubernetesClient/KubernetesClient.csproj
+++ b/src/KubernetesClient/KubernetesClient.csproj
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@
     <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Rest.ClientRuntime" Version="2.3.10" />
     <PackageReference Include="Newtonsoft.Json" Version="9.0.1" Condition="'$(TargetFramework)' != 'netstandard2.0' and '$(TargetFramework)' != 'netcoreapp2.1'" />
     <PackageReference Include="Newtonsoft.Json" Version="12.0.2" Condition="'$(TargetFramework)' == 'netstandard2.0' or '$(TargetFramework)' == 'netcoreapp2.1'" />
-    <PackageReference Include="YamlDotNet" Version="6.0.0" />
+    <PackageReference Include="YamlDotNet" Version="8.1.2" />
     <PackageReference Include="System.Buffers" Version="4.5.1" Condition="'$(TargetFramework)' != 'netcoreapp2.1'" />
     <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.SourceLink.GitHub" Version="1.0.0" PrivateAssets="All" />
   </ItemGroup>
diff --git a/src/KubernetesClient/Yaml.cs b/src/KubernetesClient/Yaml.cs
index 04a3c097f..ad2526550 100644
--- a/src/KubernetesClient/Yaml.cs
+++ b/src/KubernetesClient/Yaml.cs
@@ -176,6 +176,7 @@ public static string SaveToString<T>(T value)
                     .WithTypeConverter(new IntOrStringYamlConverter())
                     .WithTypeConverter(new ByteArrayStringYamlConverter())
                     .WithEventEmitter(e => new StringQuotingEmitter(e))
+                    .ConfigureDefaultValuesHandling(DefaultValuesHandling.OmitNull)
                     .BuildValueSerializer();
             emitter.Emit(new StreamStart());
             emitter.Emit(new DocumentStart());
diff --git a/tests/KubernetesClient.Tests/YamlTests.cs b/tests/KubernetesClient.Tests/YamlTests.cs
index 7b1fc4332..b6f2f853d 100644
--- a/tests/KubernetesClient.Tests/YamlTests.cs
+++ b/tests/KubernetesClient.Tests/YamlTests.cs
@@ -114,10 +114,10 @@ public void WriteToString()
             var pod = new V1Pod() { ApiVersion = "v1", Kind = "Pod", Metadata = new V1ObjectMeta() { Name = "foo" } };
 
             var yaml = Yaml.SaveToString(pod);
-            Assert.True(ToLines(@"apiVersion: v1
+            Assert.Equal(ToLines(@"apiVersion: v1
 kind: Pod
 metadata:
-  name: foo").SequenceEqual(ToLines(yaml)));
+  name: foo"), ToLines(yaml));
         }
 
         [Fact]
@@ -131,11 +131,11 @@ public void WriteNamespacedToString()
             };
 
             var yaml = Yaml.SaveToString(pod);
-            Assert.True(ToLines(@"apiVersion: v1
+            Assert.Equal(ToLines(@"apiVersion: v1
 kind: Pod
 metadata:
   name: foo
-  namespace: bar").SequenceEqual(ToLines(yaml)));
+  namespace: bar"), ToLines(yaml));
         }
 
         [Fact]
@@ -170,7 +170,7 @@ public void WritePropertyNamedReadOnlyToString()
             };
 
             var yaml = Yaml.SaveToString(pod);
-            Assert.True(ToLines(@"apiVersion: v1
+            Assert.Equal(ToLines(@"apiVersion: v1
 kind: Pod
 metadata:
   name: foo
@@ -184,7 +184,7 @@ public void WritePropertyNamedReadOnlyToString()
       readOnly: true
     - mountPath: /vm2
       name: vm2
-      readOnly: false").SequenceEqual(ToLines(yaml)));
+      readOnly: false"), ToLines(yaml));
         }
 
         private static IEnumerable<string> ToLines(string s)
@@ -289,7 +289,7 @@ public void SerializeIntOrString()
             };
 
             var output = Yaml.SaveToString<V1Service>(obj);
-            Assert.True(ToLines(output).SequenceEqual(ToLines(content)));
+            Assert.Equal(ToLines(output), ToLines(content));
         }
 
         [Fact]